I don't think anyone can deny the bias is the media, but they've just gone too far. It's like they're trying to perpetuate a race war....like they're trying to cause civil unrest and ultimately martial law. I'm just sick of it and I'm done watching mainstream media.

PHOENIX - Inside Self-Storage Magazine readers voted SelfStorageAuction.com, an online auction site that provides bidders with a centralized place to find self-storage auctions and attend live or bid online from virtually any location, as "Best Online Auction Services" in the magazine's "2017 Best of Business" poll.

"We are thrilled to be honored by our peers and industry professionals who recognize our team's dedication to serving our customers in every aspect of online auctions," said Jim Grant, who founded SelfStorageAuction.com. Grant was the founder of the online self storage auction industry with the ground-breaking website, Storage Battles*, which later merged with Storage Treasures*. Grant's companies won the ISS Best Online Auction Award in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and he has done it once again with his latest venture, SelfStorageAuction.com "This is a testament to our website being recognized as revolutionizing the storage auction industry yet again," Grant said. "Our platform is quickly growing in popularity within the United States and is currently expanding into the international market with auctions in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom due to the large demand we are receiving from other countries."

SelfStorageAuction.com is a mobile-friendly website that combines the simplicity, reliability and exceptional customer service of the original platform with new features that ensure stability and are more user friendly. Through its integrated state of the art website, Self Storage Auction interfaces with all management software companies to make posting auctions easier.Winners of the Inside Self-Storage "Best of Business" reader-choice poll are honored through profile pages in ISS Magazine as well as during a special ceremony at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas. The results are published online year-round for ISS readers to access.

So the first thing that came to mind is "how did a company that is just a few months old and only has a handful of clients getting more votes than Storage Treasures, a company that claims to have a million registered users and thousands of storage facilities." Answer: they didn't. So, in my opinion, that leaves three possible explanations. Either A, Inside Self Storage Magazine's Best of Business Awards are for sale to the highest bidder, B someone wrote a program that casts artificial votes, or C Inside Self Storage was hacked.

But I may be completely wrong. There may be some other logical explanation for this. What do you guys & gals think about this story?

Bought one this week that looks okay. A little pricey but there were two nice reclining leather sofas showing and lots of totes. I had pushed my bid a little passed my limit, hoping that whatever was in the totes would make up for my over spending. First tote, the usual DVDs, pots, pans, utensils, silverware. The silverware was actually the same set that I have at the house, so I was pretty stoked about that. Man, I need to get a life. Next box was full of Christmas decorations, and the next, and the next, and the next. Then things changed, the next box was full of Halloween decorations, and then more Christmas decorations, and more, and more. Just as I was about to give up hope, I found a new set of JBL subs in an enclosure, a large fire safe and a home automation system. The home automation system is pretty cool. It has a master control unit with a 6 inch color screen, a WIFI doorbell camera, a WIFI deadbolt with numerical touchpad, a WIFI thermostat, a WIFI garage door controller, a security system and a WIFI surveillance camera with audio. The system is worth about a grand. Not sure what's in the safe, if anything, but I should be able to resell the safe for at least a hundred. Found out something really cool about the new Sentry safes with the touchpads and no key ....if you don't have the combination, you can slide a high power magnet over the actuator located in the upper left corner of the door and it will open.

Update: the safe was empty, big shocker there. However, I opened some luggage and there were several pair of new boys Nike's and Addidas tennis shoes including some Jordan Melos.

These prices are out of control. Tried buying 5 units online this morning. 2 units were cancelled within 10 minutes of closing. 2 units were bid up so high that the buyers might break even. 1 unit was nice, but they bid it up to $1900 and best case scenario, after selling everything, they would be lucky to pull $2400 out of it....and that's assuming that the washer, dryer and refrigerator worked and that the furniture was all in excellent condition.

Did get one small unit yesterday, paid $55, got a 21 speed mountain bike, Dewalt drill, new Nikes, new Caterpillar boots, new Tony Lamas, lots of nice Polos, some tools and lots of other stuff that I ended up giving to my friends and neighbors. Not a bad unit for the money.

Just a hypothetical, but let's say you came across a unit full of beer or cigarettes. Could you legally resell them? From the research I've done, it's my opinion that you can legally trade it as a commodity but you might run into some problems if you try to sell it for cash. Anyone have a different opinion or know the laws pertaining to this in their state?

Just came across this press release. Jim Grant, former owner of Storage Battles and Storage Treasures sent it over. After selling out, and waiting for his non compete agreement to expire, he's back in the business with SelfStorageAuction .com. Wish him the best of luck.

Before I go any further, I appreciate the donations Jim has made to the self-storage associations which have helped reform laws which make online auctions legal. I did have an issue with some of the statements in the press release (text in red) and my comments are in blue text.

PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwired - May 4, 2017) - SelfStorageAuction .com recently made a significant financial donation to the California Self Storage Association (CSSA) in support of its lobbying efforts on two state legislation reform bills that deal with the advertisement of lien laws and requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Contributing to the successful passage of legislation that helps self storage operators and managers is a priority for SelfStorageAuction .com, an online auction platform that provides bidders with a centralized place to bid online for self storage auctions.

The first reform bill is AB1108, which is a lien law that would alter parts of the original California Self-Service Storage Facility Act to allow self storage facilities to use email as well as regular mail to contact renters who cannot pay their bills. This bill also would require the advertisement of lien auctions to be published either in newspapers or in any other media that is responsibility calculated to provide notice to potential buyers and the general public or both.

"When I first came up with the concept of combining Storage Auctions with an Ebay platform online in 2011, most people discounted the idea," said SelfStorageAuction .com Founder Jim Grant. "That's probably because the other online self-storage auction website that was established in March of 2007 had failed miserably due to our lien laws being antiquated. The first online self-storage auction website to gain ground was Sealed Online Bids. The founder was Kevin Gorzney. That site became profitable in 2010/2011 and Jim Grant purchased it shortly thereafter. OnlineStorageAuctions.com also owns OnlineStorageAuction.com which was the domain used on the site that was established in 2007 (see attached screenshot), but we don't claim to have come up with the concept of online self-storage auctions. I'll try to dig up the historical WhoIs records from 2007 and provide the name of person who developed the first online self-storage auction website, just for history's sake.

The CSSA was always very supportive in my efforts by giving me suggestions and advice. SelfStorageAuction .com offers free automated online advertising for facilities to post their lien sales, and I know that this will be embraced by the California storage industry. We are honored and very fortunate to be a member of the CSSA and be able to help continue their future efforts for the self storage industry."

The second legislation reform bill is AB1148, which is called the ADA Commercial Code 1938 Cleanup. This bill redefines commercial property "for the purposes of that provision as property that is offered for sale or lease to persons operating, or intending to operate, a place of public accommodation or facility to which the general public is invited at those premises." Basically, this bill would allow self storage to be excluded from some of the obligations it currently falls under, relieving facilities of a significant burden.

"The CSSA is very grateful for the support from SelfStorageAuction .com," said Erin King, CSSA's executive director. "We are very proud of our legislative efforts as we believe they truly benefit the facility owners and the tenants."The CSSA estimates that the proposed changes to the law will help self storage operators save approximately $1,500 minimum each year.

Grant, who is the original conceptualizer and founder of online storage auctions, And this is how history gets distorted.

created the former online auction site Storage Battles in 2012 and merged it with the web site Storage Treasures in 2015. Grant recently launched SelfStorageAuction .com, a state-of-the-art platform that promotes online and live onsite auctions of delinquent storage units across the country. The mobile-friendly website combines the simplicity, reliability and exceptional customer service of the original platform with new features that ensure stability and are more user friendly.

Hope everyone had a happy Easter. We hid unpainted eggs in the snow for fun. Kept the kids busy for hours. Just kidding, it wasn't snowing in Texas, but I would totally do that If I lived up North. We just went to church and then hit the local deli, not very exciting. How did you guys spend your Easter?

I used to believe that everything would eventually sell, given enough time, if it's priced correctly. I came across a great deal about 4 months ago. It was four identical oak king size headboards with posts and two twin size oak kids beds. Paid $20 for the lot. Finally sold the kids beds for $30. I have the headboards priced ridiculously cheap. Had several calls, but no bites yet. These things take up a pretty good amount of space in my storage shed so I really want them gone. Even considered giving them away to free up space. Anyone else had hard to sell items? If so, when do you cut your losses?

I've been out of the game for the past year or so and I cut the cable over a year ago, so I haven't been watching reality TV. Are there any new shows out? Are any of the original shows still producing new episodes? What shows are still airing re-runs?

Just a brief announcement: Online Storage Auctions (SM) has a new partner. He has 20 years corporate experience, a history of taking companies public, and strong VC connections. He has a PHD in Physics and he's a brilliant coder. Despite all this, he couldn't be more down to Earth. Really great guy, hopefully he'll introduce himself here on the forum soon.

I recently tried Ebay Valet service and was deeply disappointed. Despite the ridiculously high fees to list your items for you, I was willing to give it a shot. I sent them 2 huge moving boxes with 14 items valued between $40 and $300. You can ship your items to them for free and they provide free return shipping for items that don't sell, which is nice, so you really have nothing to lose.

At first glance, I thought this was a really good way for people who don't have a lot of free time to list their wares online. Then I read the fine print. No fragile items, only items valued over $40, used items must be in perfect condition, etc.

So, after waiting 6 months, I contacted customer service again and they told me that none of the items had sold. I told them to send the items back and I received them back about a month later. I checked my inventory and 4 of the most valuable items were missing.

Long story made short, it was a gigantic waste of time. Anyone had an experience with Ebay Valet?

Hey all, got a question for you. Lets say you bought a unit online that was several hundred miles away, would you consider using a delivery company that worked with us? What do you think the pros and cons would be?

I hit a lot of thrift stores and pawn shops (at least I did before the surgery) but I recall thinking that I could make a living as a professional shopper just cherry picking the jems and incredible deals and reselling them for a profit. is anyone else doing this?